Stellantis NV is pausing production at some of its Canadian and Mexican assembly plants as new U.S. tariffs placed on automotive imports take effect — a move that is set to trigger about 900 temporary layoffs at several of the automaker's American powertrain and stamping facilities.

An email sent to Stellantis employees from North American chief Antonio Filosa on Thursday morning described the plant changes due to the new tariffs, which took effect just after midnight. The levies announced by President Donald Trump last week placed a 25% tax on cars starting Thursday and will also apply to parts by May 3.

Filosa's message did not specify which plants would pause, but The Detroit News reported Wednesday evening that one of them is the Windsor Assembly Plant, which makes the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and similar models for the U.S. and Canadian markets, as well as Dodge's new electric Charger Daytona muscle car. It will idle for two weeks starting Monday, the union president there said. Stellantis has one other Canadian assembly facility in Brampton, Ontario, but it had already been shut down for retooling.

In Mexico, the Toluca Assembly Plant will pause production for the month starting next week, Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said. That facility builds the Jeep Compass crossover and the Jeep Wagoneer S electric SUV. The automaker's other Mexico assembly plant in Saltillo that produces Ram heavy-duty pickups will keep operating. Another Saltillo plant that builds Ram ProMaster vans was already down this week, and is expected to continue its production pause through next week.

"With the new automotive sector tariffs now in effect, it will take our collective resilience and discipline to push through this challenging time," Filosa wrote. "But we will quickly adapt to these policy changes and will protect our company, maintain our competitive edge and continue delivering great products to our customers."

He said while the company is assessing both medium and long-term effects of the new tariffs, it has decided to take these "immediate" plant actions in Canada and Mexico, noting they would affect "several of our U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities that support those operations."

The U.S. plants facing a total of about 900 temporary layoffs include the automaker's stamping facilities in Warren and Sterling Heights, as well as three facilities in Kokomo, Indiana: Indiana Transmission Plant, Kokomo Casting Plant and Kokomo Transmission Plant. The components those facilities manufacture feed the Mexican and Canadian plants that are pausing, Tinson said, though they also supply other Stellantis plants.

The Warren Stamping Plant will conduct a temporary layoff but not idle, said Romaine McKinney III, president of United Auto Workers Local 869. He said Thursday morning he was still awaiting details of the cuts.

"We understand that the current environment creates uncertainty," the Filosa email said. "Be assured that we are very engaged with all of our key stakeholders, including top government leaders, unions, suppliers and dealers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as we work to manage and adapt to these changes."

UAW President Shawn Fain slammed the company's layoff plan in a Thursday statement. The union has supported Trump's push for more tariffs as it believes it can ultimately return more manufacturing jobs to the United States.

“Stellantis continues to play games with workers’ lives," Fain said in a statement. "As we’ve shown time and again, they’ve got the money, the capacity, the product, and the workforce to employ thousands more UAW members in Michigan, Indiana, and beyond. These layoffs are a completely unnecessary choice that the company is making.”

Lana Payne, the president of Canada's auto union Unifor, sharply criticized the layoff at Windsor Assembly, where 4,500 of its members work. She noted in a statement that the union also represents other workers in the auto parts supply chain that feed the plant and will be affected as well.

“Unifor warned that U.S. tariffs would hurt auto workers almost immediately and in this case the layoffs were announced before the auto tariff even came into effect,” Payne said. “Trump is about to learn how interconnected the North American production system is the hard way, with auto workers paying the price for that lesson.”

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